the boss is." But to my astonishment one of them 

 began to gnaw the piece in two, and two more 

 began to clear a narrow way to the water, while 

 the fourth set himself to cutting down another 

 aspen. Good roads and open waterways are the 

 rule, and perhaps the necessary rule, of beaver 

 colonies. 



I became deeply interested in this colony, 

 which was situated within two miles of my cabin, 

 and its nearness enabled me to be a frequent 

 visitor and to follow closely its fortunes and mis- 

 fortunes. About the hut-filled pond I lingered 

 when it was covered with winter's white, when 

 fringed with the gentian's blue, and while decked 

 with the pond-lily's yellow glory. 



Fire ruined it during an autumn of drouth. One 

 morning, while watching from the boulder-pile, I 

 noticed an occasional flake of ash dropping into 

 the pond. Soon smoke scented the air, then came 

 the awful and subdued roar of a forest fire. I fled, 

 and from above the timber-line watched the storm- 

 cloud of black smoke sweep furiously forward, 

 bursting and closing to the terrible leaps of red 

 and tattered flames. Before noon several thou- 



158 



